Seattle Fire responds to two houseboat fire in Westlake

SEATTLE — Two houseboats docked in Lake Union went up in flames Wednesday afternoon and the plume of smoke could be seen around Seattle for miles.

“There was a boat shooting flames 15 feet in the air,” Gillian Ehrlich of NeuroVeda Health said. “It was catching the second boat next to it on fire and starting to come across the dock.”

The clinic is on the bottom floor of the 1818 Westlake Building. She said the flames were a mere few feet away from catching the building on fire. She and her staff had seconds to evacuate.

“Your mind goes through like what do you need to grab,” she said. “I was really like this can’t really be happening and then I was like oh this is happening.”

Seattle Fire responded quickly, dousing the flames and putting the fire out. No one was hurt, including the owners of the houseboats, however, one dog has been reported missing.

The flames burned so hot that they melted the clinic’s windows, but Ehrlich said the most important thing is that no one was hurt.

“Luckily, we were in the moment where patients were just about to arrive, but nobody was in a compromised position,” she said.

The cause is still under investigation.

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